by Sue Horner | Sep 2, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Remember the old days, when you used to buy software and run it until it would randomly crash and other things started to go wrong? Then you’d upgrade, spend hours getting things working again, and then run it until the danger zone again because it was such a hassle?...
by Sue Horner | Aug 21, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Your readers might just skim your text (sorry!), but chances are they’ll look more closely at the headline, photo and caption. Ideally, those three elements together should tell most of the story, in case the reader bypasses the rest of the article altogether. Photos...
by Sue Horner | Aug 5, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
So, you need to write about something important. The problem is, it’s boring or routine. You know the topics. They’re necessary, but they aren’t the sexiest. Safety reminders, maybe, or a potentially dry explanation of a (zzzz….) process...
by Sue Horner | Jul 31, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Do you want to explain something, make a point or maybe just spark a laugh? Give readers and listeners a shortcut to understanding by reaching for similes, which use “like” or “as” to show how two things are alike. (Metaphors do the same thing...
by Sue Horner | Jul 23, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
No doubt you’ve lost count of the number of times the word “unprecedented” has come your way in the past few months. It’s a go-to word for newspaper headlines, concerned emails and earnest messages from CEOs, marketers and politicians. Google Trends shows little...
by Sue Horner | Jul 16, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Thanks to the pandemic, we’re not getting together in person much anymore. So what’s a marketer to do? Writer, digital marketer and huge newsletter fan Ann Handley calls this “a time to build relationships, nurture customers, and create long-term loyalty.” In her...
by Sue Horner | Jul 3, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Is your head spinning to realize that 2020 is half over? (And thank goodness for that, although I’m still a little nervous about the murder hornets, the second wave of COVID-19 and other coming attractions.) That means it’s time for a backward look at the most-viewed...
by Sue Horner | Jun 25, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
You’ve created a terrific article, blog post, marketing email or other sparkly bit of content. Now, how do you entice people to read it? Start with an appealing headline. But wait, please don’t reach for a “clickbait” headline. You know, the ones that use...
by Sue Horner | Jun 20, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
My car insurance renewal arrived this week, and in (ahem) an “unprecedented” situation, it was good news for me – it’s less than it was last year. Of course, it should be. The Ontario government has pressured major insurance companies to lower auto rates...
